8/31/2009

Father Yod aka Jim Baker was a musician, cult leader, and successful restaurateur who lived with his followers in the Hollywood Hills during the late sixties. Yod formed his own vanity record label exclusively for his group: Ya Wo Wa 13, and pressed a limited amount of their peculiar brand of improvised psychedelia onto vinyl, and these records are now highly prized by collectors, for both their rarity as well as their curiosity.What sets Father Yod apart from other would be cult-leader/musicians (see Charles Manson's failed attempts) is that Yod was able to lure a good number of musicians into his band/cult and get them to record a prolific amount of songs, chants, sermons, hymns and straight jams. The results are uneven, but are now collected on a 13 disc set called God and Hair.Although the music has its own merit (see below to sample), the legend of the man who oversaw it almost completely overshadows it, and I feel strangely compelled to recount it. Below is a brief synopsis of Father Yod's life as it is most commonly known.Father Yod was born Jim Baker in Cincinnati in 1922. In his youth Baker enlisted as a marine and fought in WW2, earning a Silver Star medal for his bravery. He also became a Jujitsu Master and eventually had to register his hands as deadly weapons after killing three people in hand to hand combat. (unusual for a hippie)Baker initially moved to Los Angeles to try his hand as an actor and stuntman sometime in the 60's (placing him in his 40s). He didn't make much of a dent in Hollywood, and failed to land the land the part of Tarzan among others things. Yod did, however manage to fall in with The Nature Boys, an early hippie group/commune that lived in the desert raising animals, growing their own crops, and living off the land adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. It was during this time that Baker began reading up on religion and philosophy; he became heavily influenced by a Sikh guru known as Yogi Bhajan who taught him Kundalini yoga, and informed him of eastern religion.Using money that was reportedly accrued from bank robberies, Baker began financing a series of restaurants in L.A. The most successful of these was The Source. Located on the Sunset Strip, the restaurant served organic vegetarian cuisine and became a celebrity hot spot. John Lennon and Marlon Brando were both noted patrons. The Source was such a hit, that Time magazine claimed it to be the most profitable restaurant in the country per square foot. Although it was run by hairy hippies, it was marked for its cleanliness, fine service, and fine food. At its most profitable, The Source grossed as much as $10,000 a day which made Baker a very rich man. He moved to a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, and he bought a Rolls Royce.As Yod's status grew, he disassociated himself from the Natural Boys and Yogi Bhajan, and he began to develop of following for his own cult called the Source Family, who lived communally in his mansion. His teachings were based on a hodgepodge of eastern religion, egyptian mysticism, and the black magic. According to various sources, Yod and his followers celebrated "the sacred snow" "sacred weed" and the "sacred mushrooms". All of this sounds....religious/awesome? Not quite the monks life in short...Such is the life of a cult leader who lived with beautiful hippies in a Hollywood mansion.The Source Family grew to number as many as 164 members at it's peak. Yod's flexible belief system encouraged hedonism, and celebrated tantric sex as a way of transcendence. Yod himself took on 13 wives, and had innumerable other relationships. In a suprising move for a cult leader, Yod employed a council consisting solely of women to confer with on matters of importance relating to the cult, making The Source Family somewhat of an anomaly in the realm of freaked out hippie cults in the Hollywood Hills.Yod's following of male and female musicians within his cult managed to make some decent recordings if you dig deep through the hippie flotsam and jetsam which bloated their releases.

Here are two cuts from Ya Ho Wa 13 which actually make sense and loosely follow a traditional song structure.

Ya Ho Wa 13-I Can Read Your Mind

Ya Ho Wa 13-Lady

Yod met his demise in 1974. After realizing an apocalypse was on the horizon, he sold his restaurant businesses and took his remaining followers and wives with him to Hawaii, which he believed to be a safe haven. After having never hang glided before, Yod decided to try it, jumping off an 130 foot cliff and crashing into the beach below. The fall was so severe that he died nine hours later at the age of 53. His legend, however, lives on, and the Source Family not only still exist, the also have a website!

A member of the Source Family wrote a book about Yod calledThe Source, which is held to be the definitive account of this unusual man and his followers.

Donora is a indie rock band from Pittsburgh PA and consists of a brother and sister team Jake Hanner and Casey Hanner along with bassist Jake Churton. The Hanner siblings father is country musician and record producer Dave Hanner, from the country-rock duo Corbin/Hanner. This band has released a intoxicating new piano pop ditty with a video that is priceless for their new single "I Think I like You."

Who knew that Hova was secretly a fan of the Grizz? I suppose it makes sense since he is buddies with Coldplay. Heres a vid of Jay getting down at last sundays GrizzlyBear concert...its not quite as earth shattering as i wanted it to be but whatever.

I'm now eagerly awaiting some mashups of the two artists....Im thinking "Two Weeks"X"Big Pimpin'" and you could call it: "Two weeks of Pimping"

Shane Meadows the 36 year old British film maker known for his gritty realism is at it again. Meadows last film was about a young boy in England who gets involved with the skinhead subculture and it won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2007 British Academy Film Awards. Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee is a film that was shot in five days with a very small budget. It is about a roadie named Le Donk played by film collaborator Paddy Considine. He is promoting a young Nottingham Rapper by the name of Scor-zay-zee, a funny looking fat bloke with a cool hat. Le Donk will bring Scor-zay-zee along with him to seek support from the Artic Monkeys.

8/26/2009

So Jay Reatard was able to track down the hunchback of Notre Dame and put him on the cover of his excellent new album Watch Me Fall, and the result is as creepy as one would imagine. He also just put together a music video for 'It ain't gonna save me', his first single off the album; and its three minutes of awesomeness. Set in a backyard during a children's birthday party gone wrong, this video has everything you could ever want: water balloons! bubbles! food fight! a Gulliver's Travels reference! --wait what? Watch and learn son.

If you wanna read something worthwhile about Reatard, head over to the New York Times...obviously.

8/21/2009

Ryan Bingham is from Hobbs New Mexico and is the next best thing to happen to country music. He is 28 years old and sounds like a man that has been on the road whiskey drinking and hard living for 25 years. One critic said he sounds like Steve Earle’s dad. Ryan did not start out as a musician he started out on the road on the bull-riding circuit in his early teens. Lone Star music a music company with 12 employees based out of New Bruanfels Texas provided Ryan with the money for his debut album in 2006. The major labels quickly noticed him and Lost Highway Records signed him and he recently finished and is touring for his second album with them called “Roadhouse Sun”. Below is one of the new songs done acoustic in a radio studio but don’t get the wrong idea when Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses play live shows it rocks.

This is pre-emo, but makes me all emo though. Good song. Lyrics are a little over the top when you just read 'em. But when you hear them with those strings, oh those stings..... well you just have to feel them. A perfect song to listen to while you slow dance or DTR, I'm sure.

"She was so beautiful, like flowers full bloom in may, her kiss was like the rolling wind, it left me speechless with nothing to say"

8/20/2009

Tonight i wikipediad Raekwon. Dunno if thats a verb, but you understand. What popped up was a lot more extensive then what I expected (not this much). This is really one of the better editorials/essays about a rapper, or rap music that I’ve seen. I’ve never wikipediad a rapper before, but i guess this is what you get apparently. Prepare to get schooled on Raekwon.

"Although Raekwon wasn't the first to make the connection between gangsta rap and the Cosa Nostra, his storytelling abilities on tracks such as Spot Rusherz led to many a comparison with Kool G Rap (who pioneered the idea), and the album as a whole is often credited for popularizing the trend of using Mafia and gangster movie motifs in rap music." Right. Ok. Never heard any one EVER use the word 'motif' to describe anything in rap before. I bet “no homo” was deleted from that paragraph by the wikipeda censor bots. Whoever wrote that HAD to have written “no homo” after laying down “Motif” right?

"If the GZA is often described as the Wu's best overall lyricist then perhaps Raekwon is their best storyteller, and here he translates the epic themes and narratives of a Mafia movie into what critics consider a startlingly accomplished hip hop album." Is there any question that Gza is the better lyricist and Raekwon is the better storyteller?? I mean COME ON dont tell me that you sit around with our friends and discuss this? Also, who hasn't described Only Built for Cuban LInx...as a "startlingly accomplished hip hop album" in normal conversation. This post sure could use some editing to avoid redundancy!

"Raekwon got his start in acting when he played 'Cigar' in the 1999 film Black and White, and has played several other smaller roles throughout the years. He has also made cameos in numerous films as himself." Thank GOD no one forgot about Raekwon's prolific and varied acting career. I'm glad someone remembered when he played "Cigar" I saw that movie too, I just forgot his name was "Cigar" cuz i thought he played someone named "Raekwon". My bad, thanks for the clarification dude. Informative.Judging by this photo Raekwon is way more into Gold Bond powder then I am.

Raekwon's new mixtape Cuban Revolution shows that Cuban LInx 2 (new york rap’s Chinese Democracy) might be as good as its been hyped to be. Ghostface is all over the tape and its got an all star cast of 90s rappers on it, so yeah, it’s good. Download it here:

Oh yeah, if you want to get extremely informed about Raekwon and find out his government name (Corey Woods) and his birthday (January 12) so that you can celebrate it by playing cuban linx that night while wearing wallabee shoes, wu-wear jeans,and an oversized Tommy Hilfiger polo shirt while you chew on a toothpick (my mom hates that) and you cook up some fish (he is the chef) well, then knock yourself the fuck out, I’m down, sounds like a good time.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raekwonalso, Dude was in the times on Sunday, and this is fun to read…

James did the cover for Flight's exxxcellent "Flowers" 7" record (see previous post) and I got turned on by the dude's work/insanity/brilliance. I'd say more but I'll just let it speak for itself. Peep his flickr account for more scary shit. He's also got a blog called sexisdisgusting.co.ukmyspace tooI agree with a comment on one of his images left by someone going by "efwp" who wrote: "these are cool". Well put sir.

I could stare at the sky all day. One of the best uses of cgi ive seen in a music video since Dire Straits. A simple wordless vignette accompanies this haunting song off of last year's lush and haunting You & Me album. Worth watching.

8/19/2009

The morbid imagery of the cover is true to the disturbing sound of this song. Straight out of Mississippi, Flight layers fuzz over guitars drums and synth until the haze is palpable. Grimy and guttural, the track sounds as if it were recorded in a sweaty bedroom/garage in the middle of a hot summer night.Check out their myspace to snag the 7" of this track

David Byrne has created a strange new musical instrument. It is his latest project and it is called “Playing The Building”. He has turned the Battery Maritime Building into a musical instrument. It took him three weeks to turn an antique organ into an elaborate machine that through a series of devices will play the elements of the building. As a musical project it is visually impressive as well. New York is his third stop; he first did Stockholm and then London. Playing the Building will be on display at Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan until August 24th.

8/16/2009

Bat for Lashes is touring the United States for her new album “Two Suns” and made a stop at the 9:30 Club last night. Natasha Khan the 29 year old British women performed a show that was not just musical but a visual spectacle. The décor onstage was a tiny statue of Jesus on the corner of her piano, a little lamp emitting a red light, two porcelain angels with glowing wings, a giant tapestry of a wolf howling at the moon, and an arrangement of lights. The music consists of Natasha and others on the piano, harpsichord, zither, bass, drumsand the autoharp. She has a range with her voice that is absolutely remarkable.Such instruments such as the harpsichord and auto harp gave the music a medieval tone but at other times there were electronica type beats that made you want to dance. Some of the music had an eerie almost frightening quality to it, as if you were lost in dark woods and could not find your way. The drum beats were performed with mostly mallets and the basslines were very prominent.

Natasha added an element with her strange religious iconography onstage and with the many different lights the bodies seemed celestial.Natasha has been quoted in interviews saying that when she looks at the crowd she sees pine trees and sky. Nature is central to Natasha and her show, when asked by and interviewer what in nature inspires you she responded:

“I feel drained thematically if I'm in the city too long. I think that when I'm in nature—for example, I went toBig Surlast year on a road trip and just looking up and seeing dark shadows of trees and starry skies really gets me and makes me feel happy. I would sit right by the sea, and any time I have been a bit stuck I will go for a long walk along the ocean and it's just really good to see vast horizons, I think, and epic, huge, all-encompassing visions of nature really humble you and give you a good sense of perspective and the fact that you are just a small particle of energy that is vibrating along with everything else. That really helps.”

Natasha and her performance are fueled not only by musical arrangements but by visual imagery, nature, and a spirituality that really ties it all together. For the encore she came out and sat in front of her zither to play a few songs without any backing from the band for a few solemn moments. Then for the last song of the night she played the new hit single “Daniel” off of the new album.

8/14/2009

I found this song today and I can't get it out of my head. It reminds me of the Langley Schools Music Project with the children's choir and all that. It's actually a band that's put together by the actor Ryan Gosling (The Believer, The Notebook); I'm surprised.Dead Man's Bones-My Body's a Zombie For You

8/13/2009

In Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, our narrator Alex; a violent thug and rapist, is conditioned to react against classical music as a byproduct of an experimental treatment to rid him of his anti-social tenancies. Upon hearing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Alex immediately becomes extremely nauseous. This is an example of Pavlovian conditioning, whereby an association is created in the mind and a learned response is developed through repeated exposure to a trigger; which in this case was Beethoven's music.Ludwig Van Beethoven-Ninth Symphony (Second Movement, Abridged)

A similar phenomenon occurs in the viewer's mind; as the film's most violent moments are set to music, one begins to associate that music with the violence. For example: a brutal rape occurs whilst Alex sings "Singing in the rain", one of the most positive and innocuous songs ever written. Born of this, an association between that song and this act of violence is created. This is Kubrick's intention, and he uses the medium of cinema to best demonstrate the point made by the story about the powerful psychological affects of music. That scene is so horrific and memorable that in my mind that song is forever tainted by the film, and linked to a depiction of violence, despite the fact that the song itself is an uplifting tune about overcoming obstacles in life.Gene Kelly-Singing in the Rain

The film's soundtrack album features four versions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as well as an abridged version of Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell Overture, and an especially bombastic version of his second most famous composition: The Thieving Magpie.Gioacchino Rossini-The Thieving Magpie

The title music for the film was composed by a transgendered musician named Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos) who rose to fame preceding the film with his/her recordings of Bach tunes played on a Moog Synthesizer. It is one of a few original tracks composed for the film. More then any other composition on the soundtrack; this track directly communicates the atmosphere of dread and paranoia created by the film.Wendy Carlos-Title Music For A Clockwork Orange

The scene below is a perfect example of the use of music in the film to provide an unsettling counterpoint to the action on the screen. For me, this film has forever associated classical music with violence; but perhaps the film didn't create-but rather it exposed an association which had existed all along.

The Maccabees have released their second album called “Wall of Arms” and their first single is “Love you better” The second album was done with Marcus Dravs most well known for his work with Bjork, Arcade Fire and Coldplay. The Maccabees are using the atmospheric sounds of the electric guitars rather than incoporating many intruments like Arcade Fire does. After their freshman effort with such songs as "Toothpaste Kisses" it looks like aging a little bit has made their progress nice to watch. The Maccabees are breathing some life into the British indie rock scene.

Sometimes, you never want to hear the original song because it will ruin the remix. Build An Ark are a rather obscure British band whose myspace page lists as having about 20 members (!), and Daedelus is an abstract artist who cant seem to stay in one place long enough to be labeled. Sometimes he does rap songs, sometimes he does this. This works for me. A classic flamenco guitar drives this song above ascending strings and keyboards building to many minor climaxes. A female voice softly croons inscrutable lyrics towards the end. This song is like a light rain on a quiet summer's day in the countryside. Or something.

8/11/2009

Listen man, we need to talk some shit out. Your last couple albums have been OK. I was into Emotionalism, it had some really decent tracks. So I was excited when I got my hands on your new EP.

"I and Love and You" is one of the most uninspired releases I've heard in months. Stop writing love songs to Brooklyn. You guys are from North Carolina, not NYC. Stick to letters to pretty girls at the airport or down Cedar Lane. I get it, you guys want to expand your fan base and I'm really glad you are on tour with a big name like Dave Mathews Band and in the studio with a legend like Rick Rubin. But the reason that kind of exposure excites me is because I have spread the word about your band for many years now and want people to get to know the stage-stomping, soul-bearing brutal harmonies that I heard in the back room of a small town bar.

Apparently that's not what you're looking for:

One foot in and one foot back. But it don’t pay to live like that. So I cut the ties and I jumped the track. For never to return.

This verse pretty much says it all. I'll ignore the reference to payment here because I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. This is a powerful statement that the band is changing (but not evolving). But just because you are playing bigger venues and can't fit crowds in your old haunts doesn't mean you need to change the music too.

This EP is a step in the wrong direction - overproduced, obvious and lame. (What is the deal with the second track?) Hopefully the rest of the album is more reminiscent of classic Avetts. If it's loaded with the same misdirected wannabe hipster sentiment I'm sure it will sell well to those listeners that still attend DMB concerts, but you may have lost a fan here.

Everybody's gotta start somewhere, hell we don't even have a domain name yet, we still gotta blogspot URL. As I've been obsessing over Jay-Z's new song "Run this Town" in anticipation of his new album The Blueprint 3, I was alerted to this video that shows a young Sean Carter before he grew up; back when he was backing another rapper named Jaz. The native tongues vibe and the high top fade hair cuts go with what was popular in 1989, a whole seven years before radically reinventing himself with his '96 classic Reasonable Doubt, which many hold in the top five rap albums of the nineties, and surely one of the strongest debuts of a future star.Seeing how different Jay-Z is in this video to what he is now showcases what one could say is his greatest strength, his ability to adapt to the changing culture and assimilate his personal style to the times. He went from pop rapper, to hardcore gangta rapper, to popstar over the course of a decade and a half. To have started here, and ended up where he's at now, is testament to his versatility as an artist. He's like rap's David Bowie without the drugs and missteps. I think this is the fastest I've ever heard the dude rap, and it sounds good.I don't think he could've come up with this one without writing it down.

8/10/2009

Doc's flying dolorean in the movie Back to the Future 2 didn't seem like it was going to actually happen in reality. Although we have not figured out time travel the flying car has been made street legal. Terrafugia a company out of Woburn Massachusetts has developed the Transisiton a car that will cost about $194,000. www.terrafugia.com

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played DC9 last night. Edward Sharpe is Alex Ebert the lead singers boyhood alter ego but for all purposes he now is Edward. Alex has had what he is calling a personal rebirth. He was formally in a band called Ima Robot and was into a live fast die young way of life and was quoted saying

"I ended up on a lot of drugs; I basically lost myself. The last two years we were on the major label, I became an automaton -- I became a robot.”

When the LA Times did a piece on the band they wrote:

“For a time, Ebert was living in a place with no phone. He met Jade Castrinos, who now sings in the band. He read Kerouac, attended AA meetings and started working on songs in the Laurel Canyon house shared by now-bandmates Nico Aglietti and Aaron Older.”

With some startup money from the late Heath Ledger this group cut an album and put together a live show that is very different then what we have seen in a very long time.

Ebert looks like Jesus reincarnate with his big burly beard and long hair. The band is quite large for the small room at DC9 with a total of 7 people on stage. Ebert had a lot of dialogue with the crowd and seemed he was trying to forge a bond with us. He spoke a lot about love and at one point told the crowd to hug the person next to them. It was a very joyous vibe at DC9 and for a little while it was like we were at a commune and Ebert was leading the band we were watching together as a family. Ebert was defiantly channeling energies on stage through certain songs as you could see the brooding intensity come through. Jade Castrinos does some singing of her own and she has an amazing set of pipes. Castrinos has an energetic fluidity to the way she moves on stage that is very difficult to describe in words. Castrinos and Ebert stare into each other’s eyes during some of the duets and tell each other they love each other on stage. Ebert’s informal way was a different approach then most bands saying stuff to the crowd such as “sshhh guys I love you.” Or “I still feel like its awkward between us.” This traveling troupe is spirited and fun and below is a clip to give you an idea of what the show is like.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are also in the process of making a feature length film consisting of a music video for each of their songs. The storyline follows a boy named Edward Sharpe who was immaculately conceived and has to wait nearly two years before he grows arms and legs. The first installment was filmed at Joshua Tree.

Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge have gotten together to make what looks like a unbelievable documentary about the electric guitar. "It Might Get Loud" is in theaters in New York and LA on August 14th. Jack White has written new music just for the movie that will be his first as a solo artist. Davis Guggenheim who is the director and producer of Academy Award winner "An Inconvenient Truth" is the filmmaker behind the project. This documentary is a glimpse into three of the best guitarist in the world today. Also in the trailer it seems we get to watch Jack White make a guitar out of a coke bottle. Watch the trailer below.

8/04/2009

In this clip Ghostface talks about some important issues including: his upcoming R&B themed album "The Wizard of Poetry"; as well as providing some sage words of wisdom for all the young fellows out there on the subject of "Wife-ing Hoes".

8/03/2009

Dash Snow is dead at the age of 27. He was the self -indulgent artist whose great grandparents were responsible for the Menil Collection located in Houston Texas. Dominique de Menil was an heiress to the Schlumberger oil-drilling fortune. Dash was more a rock star then an artist. He was involved with the art scene on the lower east side coined the Bowery School and in many peoples mind was breathing a new energy into the art world. He left home at the age of 14 to live on the streets of New York City starting out doing graffiti and eventually breaking onto the art scene with a set of explicit Polaroid images of sex and drug use. Amongst them some other interesting photos, one depicted below.

Dash was also well known for creating what was called a “Nest”. He and his friends would get their hands on approximately 50 phone books and get a hotel room. They would then tear up all the phone books and spread them around the room. Then they would take coke, ecstasy, and mushrooms and wait. They would wait until they felt like hamsters. It all culminated into a piece he did later on called “The Nest” in which 2000 phone books and thirty volunteers were needed. He will undoubtedly become an art icon having died of a drug overdose at the tender age of 27. He leaves behind his wife Jade Berreau and their daughter Secret.